Jennifer Crusie's Blog, page 17

Second Best Book Cover of All Time

Susan Elizabeth Phillips put up on Facebook this book cover of a foreign edition of one of her novels, and it’s my second favorite book cover ever. I do have questions, though. I get that the snake is a metaphor, but why is she covered in spinach? And why is he so uninterested in the grip she has on his anaconda?

It’s only the second best cover, however. My favorite will always be this one:

This is a Good Book Thursday, November 21, 2024

This week I needed something that was completely removed from my reality, so I reread some P.D. James. Dour character development in British mystery. I’d forgotten how joyless she was. Beautiful writing, great mysteries, not a laff riot. When I couldn’t face that anymore, I switched over to another author completely removed from my reality, Terry Pratchett. Much more cheering, even if his spot-on take on the insanity of politics edged a little too close to home. Still Moist and the gang always make me feel better, and the calm conviction that there’s a Captain Carrot for every community is extremely comforting.

What did you read this week?

Working Wednesday, November 20, 2024

I’ve been working my butt off and getting a lot done, but never enough. I mean, the progress is real, I can see it, but there’s so much more to do. Some of it is finite–getting the website revamped and updated, working out a good compromise on the newsletters, finding the top of my desk–and some of it is over and over again, like emptying and filling up the dishwasher, although even that is a kind of a good thing because I didn’t have a dishwasher in my previous cottage. Since the only solution to the dishwasher is to stop eating, I’m just going to cowgirl up and keep doing it, while keeping my focus on getting The Honey Pot Plot out the door. The really good thing is, I love my work. And now it’s even more fun because I’m not alone in fighting my way through the book. I’d say,”Nothing but good times ahead,” but let’s be real, I’m American, we have some rocky moments ahead of us. Still lots of good times, though, and a reason to keep working on things we love.

What did you work on this week?

Recurring Character Chart

I don’t know if this helps dispel the series/spin-off confusion, but it was interesting to make.

Happiness is Being Fluid and Unpredictable

So this week, I’ve been trying to figure out my future, and along with that, my website, which is about to get a revamp, along with writing a newsletter that doesn’t bore or annoy people, which is tough because boring and annoying are two of my life skills. But while I was figuring out what I wanted, I thought of the life theme I’d picked out years ago, and searched the archives to see if I’d noted who said it first, and that led me to a five year old Happiness post, which I’m going to copy below because, well, we need it:

“Long ago, I read that it was important to stay fluid and unpredictable, and I was so charmed by those two words together that I took them as life theme. I already knew that rigidity led to nothing but grief. Rigid belief systems break at the first serious challenge, rigid social systems disintegrate and fall to rebellion, rigid lives end up bleak and unfulfilled. “Rigid” so often means “brittle,” a word that’s only attractive when it’s paired with “peanut,” but a fluid approach to the world that accepts its unpredictability with open arms and a firm conviction that chaos is, at the very least, interesting often leads to joy. Someone close to me once said, in exasperation, “You’re such a Pollyanna!” but I don’t think I’m unrealistic. I just look at change as something with huge potential, sure to make me look at the world in a new light, learn something new, become someone new. Things don’t always (or even often) turn out as I planned, but my life has never been boring. I chalk that up to being fluid and unpredictable.

“Or as Berkeley Breathed and Opus would say:

“How did you meet joy with open arms this week?”

Website Design 2025: What Do You Think?

I’m trying to decide how I want the website design for the new year to look, so I did a review of all the old website designs (okay, Mollie actually did that).

I noticed that Mucha’s “Medea” is a recurring theme because of the colors (JUST the colors; my brother is a sweetheart and I would never dismember him and throw his body parts off a ship to slow down my father who was trying to catch and kill me).

I’m also adding St. Lucy with her eye stalk and great side-eye, and then some Linea sticker designs which we cannot use because of copyright, but that really appeal to me as more inspiration (stickers are here). Mostly I want it warmer again. I adore Joelle’s design from 2011; it was so detailed and had that fabulous mood, but I want something lighter now because I think I’m writing lighter now. So here’s the color board I made for Joelle this time; I whittled my choices down to:

I do think we need to keep the monkey and probably the cherry. You know, tradition.

So any suggestions on how to improve the website (and along with that, the header on this blog)? Mollie and I are trying to find the sweet spot between her professionalism and my need to be entertaining. That’s a long reach.

What do you think?

Argh Author: Deb Blake’s Dangerously Charming

Our own Deb Blake has a reissue out now: Dangerously Charming. part of her Baba Yaga series:

The Riders are three immortal brothers who protect the mythical Baba Yagas. But their time serving the witches has ended … and their new destinies are just beginning.

Ever since a near-fatal mistake stripped Mikhail Day and his brothers of their calling to be riders, Day has hidden from his shame and his new, mortal life in a remote cabin in the Adirondack mountains. But when a desperate young woman appears on his doorstep, he cannot resist helping her — and cannot deny how strongly he’s drawn to her …

For generations, women in Jenna Quinlan’s family have been cursed to give up their first born child to the vengeful fairy Zilya. When Jenna finds herself unexpectedly pregnant, she is determined to break her family’s curse and keep her baby, even if it means teaming up with a mysterious and charismatic man with demons of his own …

To unravel the curse, Jenna and Day will have to travel deep into the Otherworld. But the biggest challenge of the journey might not be solving an ancient puzzle, but learning to heal their own broken hearts.

“Addicting” ~ Maria V. Snyder, New York Times bestselling author

“Wonderful, magical fun!” ~ Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author

Buy Links:
B&N
Amazon
Apple

Author Links:
Etsy: https://deborahblake.etsy.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deborahblake
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/debor...
Newsletter: http://dld.bz/dWEQs
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/deborahblake
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deborah.blake
Blog: http://deborahblake.blogspot.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deborahblak...
Website: http://deborahblakeauthor.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Bio
Deborah Blake is the author of seventeen books on modern Witchcraft, including The Eclectic Witch’s Book of Shadows, The Little Book of Cat Magic and Llewellyn’s Little Book of Spellcraft, as well as the acclaimed Everyday Witch Tarot and Oracle and Everyday Witch’s Familiars Oracle decks. She has also written three paranormal romance and urban fantasy series for Berkley, and as well as a cozy mystery series about a run-down pet rescue. Deborah lives in a 140 year old farmhouse in upstate New York with numerous cats who supervise all her activities, both magical and mundane. She can be found at http://deborahblakeauthor.com

This is a Good Book Thursday, November 14, 2024

This week I read How to Keep House While Drowning. It was good. Basic theme: Housekeeping does not have moral dimension. Biggest help: Spaces don’t need to be tidy, they need to be functional. When the clutter makes it difficult to function, clean. Of course, since I can function in the middle of complete chaos, that’s not the biggest news to me, but it’s a help because now when I look at the mess on my desk, I don’t think, I’m a horrible person, I think, If you can’t see the top of the desk, you can’t work on it, Jenny. Big difference between shame/guilt and practicality.

What did you read this week?

More Working Wednesday. Or Whatever.

This is to prove that Bob and I work.

There was more, but it was equally inane. It’s a miracle we ever finish a book.

Working Wednesday, November 12, 2024

This week I put together a table for the front porch and a bookcase for the garage because I need a pantry, and the garage is attached. I also worked on The Honey Pot Plot and crocheted. But mostly, I was worthless. Some weeks are like that.

What did you work on this week?

Oh, crap, it’s Tuesday. I’ve been so paranoid not getting these post up on time that I over-reacted. So take two days to talk about work, and I’ll make sure GBT posts on Thursday.